Information regarding the The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018

The request was partially successful.

Dear Lewes District Council,

Given that new legislation known as The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 has now been in force for a year, and acknowledging the Statutory guidance issued by Her Majesties Government, specificity paragraph 105 entitled Question 15 of the Frequently asked questions, can the council confirm the following:

1 Does the council maintain a publicly accessible register of all businesses licensed under the AAL regulations, and if so, where can it be found.

2 If the council does not maintain a publicly accessible register of all businesses licensed under the AAL regulations, has this been as a result of a specific decision or otherwise. Please provide details of relevant option.

3 If the council does not maintain a register, please detail all businesses in the Councils area that are licensed under the AAL regulations for the selling of animals as pets, including any star rating gained.

4 Since the introduction of the AAL regulation, have any businesses been refused a licence to sell animals as pets, or had such a licence revoked.

5 How many complaints have the council received and upheld regarding businesses licensed to sell animals as pets in the twelve months prior to the introduction of the AAL regulations.

6 How many complaints have the council received and upheld regarding businesses licensed to sell animals as pets in the twelve months since the introduction of the AAL regulations.

Yours faithfully,

Antony Goodwin

foi, Lewes District Council

Thank you for your information request received today.

 

I am currently reviewing your request and investigating whether there is
any information available for disclosure.  The Council, in accordance with
Section 10 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (‘the Act’), will reply
to your request promptly and in any event not later than the twentieth
working day following the date of receipt. Subject Access Requests will be
responded to within one calendar month in line with the GDPR (General Data
Protection Regulation).

 

In accordance with section 8(1)(b) of the Act and related guidance from
the Information Commissioner’s Office, the Council reserves the right to
treat any request for information as invalid unless the requester supplies
their real name.  In such cases, the Council may request proof of
identity.

 

 

Please contact me again if you require any assistance with your request
and I will do my best to provide the relevant help and advice.

 

Kind Regards

 

 

Information Governance Officer

Lewes District Council and Eastbourne Borough Council

foi, Lewes District Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr. Goodwin,

 

Thank you for your Freedom of Information request dated 15 October 2019 
which has been registered under reference FOI 10052

 

1 Does the council maintain a publicly accessible register of all
businesses licensed under the AAL regulations, and if so, where can it be
found.

 

2 If the council does not maintain a publicly accessible register of all
businesses licensed under the AAL regulations, has this been as a result
of a specific decision or otherwise. Please provide details of relevant
option.

 

3 If the council does not maintain a register, please detail all
businesses in the Councils area that are licensed under the AAL
regulations for the selling of animals as pets, including any star rating
gained.

 

4 Since the introduction of the AAL regulation, have any businesses been
refused a licence to sell animals as pets, or had such a licence revoked.

 

5 How many complaints have the council received and upheld regarding
businesses licensed to sell animals as pets in the twelve months prior to
the introduction of the AAL regulations.

 

6 How many complaints have the council received and upheld regarding
businesses licensed to sell animals as pets in the twelve months since the
introduction of the AAL regulations.

 

As the Council has concerns over the receipt of anonymous and, possibly,
pseudonymous requests, it has decided to tighten procedures and reserves
the right to ask for proof of identity. Therefore I would appreciate it if
you could provide, electronically or otherwise, some proof of your
identity.

 

The usual forms of proof such as passport, drivers licence or a utility
bill are acceptable but other formats will be considered as long as they
demonstrate the genuine identity of the requestor.

 

A request for information must contain the ‘real name’ and address of the
requestor:

 

Freedom of Information Act 2000 Section 8(1)(b):

 

In this Act any reference to a “request for information” is a reference to
such a request which—

 

        “…states the name of the applicant and an address for
correspondence”

 

I have attached the ICO guidance (Identity or motives of the applicant)
and would draw your attention to the section on page 4.

 

Alternatively, you are entitled to appeal to the Information Governance
Appeals Officer -

 

Information Governance Appeals Officer

Lewes District Council and Eastbourne Borough Council

1 Grove Road

EASTBOURNE

BN21 4TW

 

Email: [1][email address]

 

In the meantime your request has been put on hold until I receive your
reply.  If I do not hear from you within 30 working days of the date of
this email I will assume that you no longer wish to proceed with your
information request, and will take no further action.

 

 

 

 

Regards,

 

Kevin Rance

Information Governance Officer

Tel: +44(0)1273 471600

[2][email address]

Lewes and Eastbourne Legal Services acting on behalf of Lewes District
Council and Eastbourne Borough Council

 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]

Dear Lewes District Council,
FAO Mr Rance

Further to your recent reply to my FOIA request made via the 'whatdotheyknow.com' site, I would like to clarify your request and the reasons behind it.

You state 'As the Council has concerns over the receipt of anonymous and, possibly,
pseudonymous requests, it has decided to tighten procedures and reserves
the right to ask for proof of identity. Therefore I would appreciate it if
you could provide, electronically or otherwise, some proof of your
identity. '

I have to therefore ask what concern the council may have about my request being anonymous. It is quite clear from the legislation that a request may be made in someone's name, even if that name excludes some parts or includes others. The name I have supplied , Antony Goodwin, is not, in my opinion anonymous. I could quite as easily have made the request under the name Tony Goodwin, which I am known as by some, but have no documents to support this.

It is my opinion that the FOIA does not provide a public body the right to require proof of identity, and to use the lack of any such proof as valid reason not to provide the requested information.

Would you therefore explain your reasons for believing the name Antony Goodwin is either anonymous or pseudonymous.

In relation to an address, I feel I do not need to remind you that a physical address or lack off, is not reason to find a request valid or otherwise. In fact you will be aware that the ICO guidance specificity cites the site 'whatdotheyknow.org' as an example where the sites email address supplied with a request is a valid address.

If, once the council has complied with the request, and it becomes clear the reply is such that it can not be supplied via the site, Then I will look at alternative ways to assist the council to meet its responsibilities.

I look forward to your positive response.

Yours faithfully,

Antony Goodwin

foi, Lewes District Council

Dear Mr. Goodwin,

Thank you for your email dated 16 October 2019.

The council has no objection to replying to FOI requests which come via the 'What Do They Know?' website however we do have concerns over the possible misuse of the FOI process as there are no checks in place by the website to validate a requestor which could allow multiple requests to be submitted with a variety of pseudonymous names from a single source.

So, once we have documentary evidence that Antony Goodwin or any derivation therein is your true name then we will be pleased to proceed with your request.

In the meantime your request remains on hold until I receive your reply. If I do not hear from you within 30 working days of the date of my previous email I will assume that you no longer wish to proceed with your information request, and will take no further action.

Regards,

Kevin Rance
Information Governance Officer
Tel: +44(0)1273 471600
[email address]
Lewes and Eastbourne Legal Services acting on behalf of Lewes District Council and Eastbourne Borough Council

show quoted sections

Dear Lewes District Council,

Further to your last response, I have sent via email, evidence to confirm my identity as required.

I do not consider your request as lawful nor warranted and will proceed separately regarding this, as it should not provide further reason to harass my request for what should be publicly available information.

Yours faithfully,

Antony Goodwin

Access to Information, Lewes District Council

Dear Mr. Goodwin,

I can confirm receipt of your proof of identity and will progress your request accordingly.

Kevin Rance
Information Governance Officer
Tel: +44(0)1273 471600
[email address]
Lewes and Eastbourne Legal Services acting on behalf of Lewes District Council and Eastbourne Borough Council

Lewes District Council: Southover House, Southover Road, Lewes BN7 1AB  www.lewes.gov.uk. Minicom 01273 484488
Eastbourne Borough Council: 1 Grove Road, Eastbourne BN21 4TW  www.eastbourne.gov.uk. Text Relay 18001 01323 410000


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Access to Information, Lewes District Council

2 Attachments

Dear Mr. Goodwin,

 

Information Request:  FOI 10052

 

Thank you for your information request dated 15 October 2019 received in
our office on the same day.

 

I have reviewed your request and investigated whether there is any
information which can be disclosed to you.  Please find below the
information the council holds, and which I am pleased to provide to you.

 

1     Does the council maintain a publicly accessible register of all
businesses licensed under the AAL regulations, and if so, where can it be
found.

The Council does not currently maintain a public register for animal
licences

 

2 If the council does not maintain a publicly accessible register of all
businesses licensed under the AAL regulations, has this been as a result
of a specific decision or otherwise. Please provide details of relevant
option.

This is currently being developed and will be available in the future

 

3 If the council does not maintain a register, please detail all
businesses in the Councils area that are licensed under the AAL
regulations for the selling of animals as pets, including any star rating
gained.

WK/201837768 Selling animals LN/201900014 Pets Corner UK Ltd, Coombe
as pets Court, 137-139 Malling Street,
Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2RB
WK/201837771 Selling animals LN/201900021 Pets Corner, Garden Pride
as pets Garden Centre, Common Lane,
Ditchling, East Sussex, BN6 8TN
WK/201840997 Selling animals LN/201900022 Pets Corner UK Ltd, 378A South
as pets Coast Road, Telscombe Cliffs,
East Sussex, BN10 7ET
WK/201841032 Selling animals LN/201900182 Paradise Park Garden Centre,
as pets Avis Road, Newhaven, East
Sussex, BN9 0PR
WK/201903193 Selling animals LN/201900269 Pets at Home, Unit B1, Mckinlay
as pets Way, Newhaven, East Sussex, BN9
0FA

 

4 Since the introduction of the AAL regulation, have any businesses been
refused a licence to sell animals as pets, or had such a licence revoked.

            None

5 How many complaints have the council received and upheld regarding
businesses licensed to sell animals as pets in the twelve months prior to
the introduction of the AAL regulations.

            None

6 How many complaints have the council received and upheld regarding
businesses licensed to sell animals as pets in the twelve months since the
introduction of the AAL regulations.

            None

 

I trust that this deals with your enquiry to your satisfaction, but if you
feel that Lewes District Council has misunderstood or not responded
appropriately to your request, you have two courses of action:

 

o You can clarify the terms of your original request to allow this to be
looked at again  (if you expand your request this will be dealt with
as a new request)
o All applicants have a 'right of appeal'.  An appeal should be focused
on the original request and should identify how the council’s response
failed to answer your Information Request.  Appeals must be made in
writing (or e-mail) within 40 working days of receipt of this response
and addressed to the Information Governance Appeals Officer, to the
address below. 

 

Information Governance Appeals Officer

Lewes District Council and Eastbourne Borough Council

1 Grove Road

EASTBOURNE

BN21 4TW     

                                  

E-mail  : [1][email address]

 

After the council’s internal appeals procedure has been exhausted, a
further appeal about the same Information Request can be directed to the
Information Commissioner for adjudication.  Full details will be provided
should an appeal proceed to this stage.

 

Please note:

If you are considering re-using the information disclosed to you through
this request, for any purpose outside of what could be considered for
personal use, you are required under the Public Sector Re-use of
Information Regulations 2015 to make an Application for Re-use to the
organisation you have requested the information from.  Applications for
Re-Use should be directed to the address detailed in the footer below.

 

Please contact me again, quoting your reference number, if you require any
further assistance with your current request and I will do my best to
provide the relevant help and advice.

 

 

Kevin Rance
Information Governance Officer

Tel: +44(0)1273 471600

[2][email address]

Lewes and Eastbourne Legal Services acting on behalf of Lewes District
Council and Eastbourne Borough Council

 

Lewes District Council: Southover House, Southover Road, Lewes BN7 1AB 
[3]www.lewes.gov.uk. Minicom 01273 484488

Eastbourne Borough Council: 1 Grove Road, Eastbourne BN21 4TW 
[4]www.eastbourne.gov.uk. Text Relay 18001 01323 410000

 

[5]cid:image003.jpg@01D1E9A6.A42E8490 [6]smaller iESE Awards Gold Winner
2019

Save a tree… please do not print this email unless you really need to

This email is confidential and for the exclusive use of the above named
addressee(s) or an authorised agent. If you are not the intended
recipient(s), you are prohibited from copying, distributing,
disseminating, or in any other way using the content of this email. If you
have received this email in error, please contact the sender using the
contact details given above.

All our Network computers operate virus-scanning but we make no guarantee
that any attachment to this email is free from computer viruses. You are
advised to check all attachments using your own virus-scanning software
before opening or executing them.

All written communications sent by and to Eastbourne Borough Council are
subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000. You should therefore be
aware that this email or the information contained in it may be disclosed
without notice to a third party making a request for information about the
subject matter of this email.

 

 

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.lewes.gov.uk/
4. http://www.eastbourne.gov.uk/